The present invention relates to an electrical connector provided with a front retainer.
A front retainer doubly retains electrical terminal fittings which have been inserted into cavities of a connector body and are retained therein by lances. One such front retainer, as described in JP 6-5326, is inserted from an anterior face (a fitting face) side of the cavities. Protruding portions of the front retainer protrude into bending spaces of lances and thereby prevent the lances from bending. Consequently, this double retaining is performed indirectly.
It is desirable to reduce the number of components in this type of retainer, and to make the retainer a common retainer, i.e., one that can be shared by both male and female connectors. However, since the terminal fittings of the male and female connectors have mutually differing shapes, the lances for each are located in differing positions. Generally, the lances on the female side are located further inwards from the fitting face than the lances on the male side. The difference in location of the lances (and, consequently, the location of the bending spaces thereof) is particularly great when the terminal fittings are large. Since the protruding portions of the retainer that are inserted into the bending spaces must consequently be of differing lengths, there are many obstacles to making a common retainer.
According to the invention, there is provided a connector assembly comprising male and female connector housings which are mutually engageable along a fitting direction, each housing having a plurality of terminal cavities aligned with the fitting direction, and each said cavity having an electrical terminal fitting housed therein, each terminal cavity being further provided with a resilient lance at one side thereof and adapted for bending and retaining a respective terminal fitting therein, and the connector assembly further including a retainer for each of said housings, the respective retainer being insertable into a retainer aperture of a respective housing to prevent bending of said lances, characterized in that said male and female housings have an even number of terminal cavities, symmetrically located, half on either side of a dividing plane extending in the fitting direction, each said retainer aperture being contiguous with bending spaces for said lances, and with accommodation spaces, each terminal cavity being associated with a bending space on one side of said plane and an accommodation space on the other side of said plane, and said retainer having male and female protrusions provided thereon for each terminal cavity, the protrusions being adapted in each case to engage one in a respective bending space and one in an accommodation space whereby the male protrusions engage lances of male terminal fittings, and female protrusions engage lances of female terminal fittings.
The invention permits the use of a common retainer for both male and female terminal fittings, correct association with the male and female lances being assured by placing the terminal cavities on either side of the dividing plane.